GENDER AND THE MEDIA The media has a very powerful effect on culture, shaping societal structures and operations. Dominant media forms have heavily assisted in constructing gender and genderalized norms. Advertising and mass media forms display codes that are associated with representing male and female attributes. These gender codes shape the way in which society views gender and assists in determining what is acceptable gender performance. It is through media’s reinforcement of gender stereotypes, codes and gender displays that shape the way in which society perceives and constructs genders.
Media Influence on Gender Identity Introduction The media dictates how the ideal woman looks like. The deliberate control of women by the media is taken up by the society and passed into generations. By using, digitally enhanced images, and exceedingly slim actors, the unattainable image of the ideal woman is generated, and for the average woman who does not match the mold, pressure is build for them to change their appearance accordingly. Gender is a cultural and psychological and term while sex pertains to physical and biological features. Sex is determined by the X and Y chromosomes, where XX denotes female while XY denotes male.
The representation of gender in mass communications has been a hugely debated topic for years and will continue to be one for many more years to come. The media plays a big role in how they want to portray a gender to the public. They create certain stereotypes through the role of a gender in order to attract a large audience and interest to sell a product, brand or image. Media is so important in today’s society, people spend hours and hours each day watching TV, browsing the Internet and reading magazines. There are so many images of men and women in the media today that it certainly has an impact on the viewer’s thoughts and sense of identity.
Moreover, stereotypes are the media predators that exist whether we’d like to admit it or not. We are all a subject to messages presented on the television, Internet, and publications. Stereotypes involve ethnic, racial, and even gender-based stereotypes. We cannot deny the fact that media stereotypes have influenced the way we think one way or another, and has implemented some thoughts that has left us doubtful towards their credibility. This is a crucial worldwide issue that affects many people around the world, yet a lot of people are not aware of.
When men and women enter into a heterosexual relationship, their gender roles are at play and sexual scripts need to be upheld over time in order to continue following the social expectation. The media plays one of the biggest roles in disseminating the ideals of feminine and masculine identity and thus holds much influence over society and its actions. Female gender roles and the media Traditional female role expectations, such as being mothers and homemakers are being met by more modern ideals of attaining achievement as part of the feminist movement. According to Halberstam (2013), women have achieved economically to the point of being the main bread winners within many households.
The decision that the person makes to let society influence their gender identity, can influence their gender identity in a positive or negative light. This is in the form of social media; being magazines, the internet, and social sites. Society displays the stereotypical image of what a woman and man should look like and how he/she should behave. This stereotypical image of the “perfect” male or female influences the person to become something that they are not, or what the person thinks she/he should look like to become the “perfect” image. This societal influence can mislead people to find the wrong gender identity for them or lead people in the right gender identity for them.
Gender Stereotypes in Commercials Mass media, nowadays, have a great power and influence large audiences, as they not only give people information and entertainment, but they also affect their lives by shaping their opinion, attitudes and beliefs. In order to create a universal, understandable and acceptable for numerous and diverse recipients message, mass media very often use stereotypes and more specifically the gender stereotypes. Despite the fact that the differences between male and female roles are smaller in our times, mass media still use traditional gender stereotypes, maybe because they assume that they are well known to everyone, and help the receivers to understand the content of the message. Sometimes they choose to picture certain
Media has always held a great influence over its targeted audiences, and therefore must be able to influence the views on societal norms that people hold in society itself. From this assumption, media can influence gender roles, particularly women’s roles, due to the portrayal of women in the media, as well. Throughout history, women’s roles have changed in comparison to the other gender. Furthermore, methods of propaganda, and of media in general, have changed as well, especially concerning gender roles. Significant time periods in which shifts of gender roles occurred were the Industrial Revolution, World War I, World War II, and as well as the introduction of Film Industry, which all included adaptations in their media to either cause a change of gender roles, or to adapt to one.
For example, women are expected to be thin and graceful and to dress and groom in ways that are stereotypical to women, like wearing dresses and makeup. For example, a study on self-perceptions of physical appearance “indicated that women considered all components of appearance except height to be more important than did men and were more interested in changing their appearance than were men.” (Gender, Gender Role, and Physical Appearance). This shows how women are typically more insecure about how they look and if they fit their stereotypical look that society has created for them or not. On the other hand, men are expected to be tall and muscular. However, in the same research, it stated that “few physical attributes distinguished among the male gender-role groups.” (Gender, Gender Role, and Physical Appearance).
Introduction This assignment will access the gender role of women with regard to the media and possibly contribute to the debate about the way in which women are represented and portrayed in the media. Additionally, it will discuss how society has perceived it, with relation to body image, equality, and how the media influences has enabled development of certain female societal norms. Furthermore, it will emphasise how the mass media’s acceptance and coverage of these topics has had an adverse effect in relation to female social norms. The media play an integral role within the modern world by transmitting information and entertaining many people. While doing so, this information and entertainment influences people’s attitudes, opinions,